Today's high-energy prices and growing awareness of greenhouse gas emissions confronts consumers with the global nature of energy and environment. Observations show an unambiguous correlation between rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and rising global temperatures. The onset of this trend appears to coincide with the dawn of the industrial revolution. Thus, the global mean temperature shows an increase of about one degree Celcius while the CO2 concentration has increased some 30%. This trend is expected to persist well into the present century due to the long survival time of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The direct link between global energy needs and the global climate is unprecedented, and managing this relationship may be a defining political challenge for the twenty first century. While current changes in global climate remain smooth perturbations up to the present, and hence may be reversible, abrupt changes of stability in the global climate are possible, as inferred from geological records. Abrupt changes can have lasting consequences. They can occur, for example, by a change of topology of global currents in the atmosphere and oceans. Global currents are responsible for convective heat-transport on a global scale, and their stability is key to the existing global climate. Loss of stability may arise out of changes in planetary radiation balance and the natural CO2 cycle, such as by melting of polar ice-caps and large-scale man-made tropical deforestation. The potential impact of destabilizing the global climate on the economy, health and way of living remains largely unknown. In the absence of means for climate stabilization, other than stimulating the rebuilding forests, preventive measures appear to be method of choice for responsible long-term energy policies.
Despite these risks, global energy needs will continue to demand fossil fuels for some time to come. In the US, residential energy-consumption is responsible for about 20% of the US CO2 emissions. Natural gas accounts for about 20% hereof, or about 4% of the US CO2 emissions. Although residential heating forms a relatively minor factor in the total of all greenhouse gas emissions, it forms a potentially powerful factor in public awareness of energy usage and greenhouse emissions.
Yearly changes in residential gas-energy reveal appreciable fluctuations, which are highly sensitive to weather. The overall national US residential gas-usage changes a few percent in response to a change of one degree Celcius of winter temperature (on the basis of the cold winter of 1996; based on DOE 2006). This correlation shows the relevance of home energy efficiency, comprising the combined efficiency of heating and insulation. However, the use of national averages completely disguises the weather-sensitivity of an individual home. The field-experiment reported here reveals a weather-sensitivity on the order of tens of percents. This discrepancy suffices to demonstrate the need for home-specific energy efficiencies.
Public policy towards residential gas-energy savings is effective, provided that it (1) recognizes the complex interaction of human energy needs, quality home building and climate, (2) stimulates the creation of the tools for efficient energy management on the basis of quantitative analysis of the relevant physical and economical parameters, and (3) provides a long-term sustainable outlook which engages the broader public by increasing energy awareness and by providing economic incentives. Motivated by the first, we focus in this disclosure largely on the second item and partly on the third.
Measuring home energy efficiency can serve as a significant step towards saving energy by increasing public awareness. It serves as an incentive towards using energy-efficient home-climate systems and home-improvements in heating equipment and home-insulation. Introducing high-standards for home energy efficiency in new and existing buildings fits in well with the overall objectives of the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here, modern technical developments may make a contribution through dedicated measurement and validation systems. The Kyoto Protocol commits developed countries to making the necessary investments in technology and climate research.
Here, we disclose a novel Van Putten-Gas Energy Observatory (VP-GEO) which combines high-resolution gas-energy information with local weather data. It visualizes human behavior in using residential facilities such as taking showers, washing and cooking, and performs weather sensitivity analysis. The latter determines the dependency of gas-energy usage on the observed outside temperatures and provides a measure for home energy efficiency. Understanding weather sensitivity creates new opportunities for energy saving home-climate control algorithms. These data further serve as feedback to the user, increasing energy awareness and stimulating energy-saving behavior and quality home-construction.
Public dissemination of VP-GEO weather data creates a unique in-situ climate observational systems with exceptional area coverage and spatial resolution. Gas-metering, in existence since invention of the mechanical bellow meter in 1812 by Samuel Clegg, may be just the vehicle of choice for detailed long-term climate observations at no additional cost.
In this disclosure, we introduce the VP-GEO presenting gas-energy information to the consumer with wireless uplink to a remote display, personal computer or hand-held device, featuring                The complete picture of human behavior in gas-energy usage        Weather-sensitivity analysis specific to observed weather-pattern and home        Interactive energy saving strategies in home climate control systems        Energy audits of homes, home-improvements, residential facilities and climate control        Integration into a wide area climate observation system for public use.        
It has been well-recognized that climate research depends crucially on quality data. Archiving high-precision weather information over long periods of time with wide area coverage and high spatial resolution is the basis for resolving climate trends (Nat. Acad. Sc. 1999). Local weather data of the VP-GEO can be publicly disseminated in the interest of climate research. This dual-use is a “no-regrets” strategy, in the broader effort to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and international exchange of new energy and climate monitoring technologies. It can be pursued at little extra cost, and the overhead in this effort is consistent with the Kyoto Protocal on investments in technology and climate research.
Here, we disclose the technical implementation of the VP-GEO following the existing trend in small, smart and easy-to-use products. It consists of the following novel hardware, measurement principles and data-analysis:                Thermodynamic anemometry using a silicon flow-sensor in CMOS and wireless outside temperature sensor        High-resolution flow-measurements at 0.4 Hz creating 1 Mbyte per day        Weather-sensitivity analysis for total gas-energy usage to the observed weather pattern and a measurement of home energy efficiency quality        A wireless graphical user-interface for real-time and total gas-energy usage, charts of gas-energy usage histories and weather-sensitivity parameters        Interactive energy-saving algorithms correlated to the outside temperature, and remote control of a stand-by mode by GPRS.        
A brief description of the method and device is disclosed below, together with a disclosure of first experimental results from a recent home-installation of the Van Putten-Gas Energy Observatory (VP-GEO).